Load Remover for KH3 consists of VideoAutoSplit, a component for Livesplit, KH3 profile for it, and a way to provide VideoAutoSplit video of your gameplay. This is currently used for DLC categories; Re:Mind and Limitcut episode runs as the primary timing method.

Be sure to follow the help provided in this page to install VideoAutoSplit and VirtualCam for OBS if needed (if you don't know, you probably need it):
https://github.com/ROMaster2/LiveSplit.VideoAutoSplit

Note that the VirtualCam link in those instructions direct you to an older version that works with older versions of OBS. Newer VirtualCam version can be found here https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/obs-virtualcam.949/

I'm also putting the download link for the VideoAutoSplit program here in case there is any confusion as to what to download:
https://github.com/ROMaster2/LiveSplit.VideoAutoSplit/releases/download/0.5.2.3/LiveSplit.VideoAutoSplit.v0.5.2.3.zip

You can find the latest version of the load remover here: https://www.speedrun.com/kh3/resources Included in KH3LoadRemover.zip is kh3_features.vas, which is the profile for VideoAutoSplit made specifically for KH3 to pause the timer during black screens, white screens, and Instagram style loads. Be sure to check that page every now and then to make sure you're using the latest version.

After installing and setting up VideoAutoSplit, refer to the included image as to how the result should look like in livesplit. You need to add Video Auto Split to your layout and go to its settings. Select the kh3_features.vas file as profile and a capture device, which should be something like "OBS-Camera..." in case of OBS VirtualCam. Be sure that you have started the video feed for that virtual device in OBS. Normally you need to start it manually each time. The yellow area, the Scan Region can be set by the user and it should match the game window as closely as possible. If you use the VirtualCam as a filter on your capture card, you should cover the whole area. Otherwise, you can ignore any stream overlay graphics that might cover your gameplay as long as they don't cover the blue parts in the Scan Region, as those are the actual parts where the image is being checked.

When everything is set up, be sure to bring up a game time timer in livesplit in addition to real time. Your layout should include 2 timers, where one is set to use game time and the other real time. Game time should always be visible in a submitted video, otherwise it will have to be retimed.

If there are any issues, you can refer to the features tab of VideoAutoSplit. During black screens, "black" should show a value above 97. During white screen, "white" should show a value above 97. During an Instagram style loading screen, all the "IG" should be above 97 except IGFALSE which should be below 97, likely closer to 0. If the numbers aren't quite there, make sure your game and capture card brightness settings are set to default and any other color modifying filters are off.

A buffer is used to avoid pausing the timer by opening the camera in game. A load needs to be several frames long before it's counted as a load. On the other hand, the same buffer is used when transitioning from load to gameplay. This helps avoid issues in potential false readings. In other words, a couple unusual frames during a load would be ignored. For the same reason, the timer will appear delayed compared to gameplay, so don't worry if doesn't appear completely in sync.

Some people have had issues with the load remover stopping working. I recommend restarting livesplit before attempting runs to mitigate the risk, as it only seems to happen on 2+ hour sessions. If this happens, check the video auto splitter settings tab and take note of anything that looks off. Also export the error log and send it my way if possible.

In case you can't get it to work at all, competitive runs can be timed by moderators. Be sure to have a full, clean video recording of the gameplay in that case.

In case you need assistance, contact me, denho#3759 on Discord or here on speedrun.com in this thread or as private message. You can also find me on Kingdom Hearts Speedrunning Discord.

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FAQ (Be sure to check the help section on VideoAutoSplitter and VirtualCam too):

Can I use Streamlabs OBS or XSplit?
- VirtualCam plugin doesn't work with Streamlabs OBS, but you can use OBS with VirtualCam to provide game video to Streamlabs OBS as well as VideoAutoSplitter. As for XSplit, it includes a built-in Virtual Camera feature which you can use.

It's working great, except for this part. Why?
- Contact me with details / video / screenshots and we'll figure it out. The load remover can be adjusted in any way needed. If the timer changes significantly, old runs can be retimed by runners and moderators.

Timer seems laggy or causing the computer to lag. Why?
- These image comparisons are done on the CPU, comparing every pixel in selected areas. I do my best to optimize it. Runs can be timed afterwards if it's too heavy for you to use while streaming/recording. The resolution is based on the canvas resolution in OBS, so I recommend having that set to 720p or 1080p depending on your desired output of the stream.
https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/obs-virtualcam.539/ for more information about that.

My capture card / setup doesn't work with the timer, what to do?
- You can use PS4 recordings and time the run afterwards.

How can I time the run afterwards?
- You need to set up a video to play on OBS, then use the VirtualCam. You can use the VLC Media Source to open a video file on OBS, for example.

VideoAutoSplitter is not showing up in Livesplit. Why?
- Make sure you're Livesplit is 1.7.6 or above. Current version is 1.8.11. Also make sure you downloaded the right file for VideoAutoSplitter and installed it in the components folder of Livesplit.

VirtualCam is not showing up in OBS or video preview doesn't show up in VideoAutoSplitter. Why?
- This is the latest OBS VirtualCam version: https://obsproject.com/forum/resources/obs-virtualcam.949/

Also make sure you have started the virtualcam in OBS. You can verify the functionality by adding that virtualcam (OBS-Camera...) in to a scene in OBS and see if the video shows up so you know the video output is going through (don't leave it there once you get it to work though)

this seems very very pointless to do and probably why there is no runs for this category. i suggest to remove this requirement

Why would you say is this pointless? Do you know how the timing works in this game?
It is a bit of a hassle to set it up, that's right, but I can tell you several things about it.

1: Limitcut is a very hard category and there have been runs done already, just not with the loadremover yet.
2: ReMind as a category takes a bit to set up and probably seems pretty boring to most people which is why there aren't any runs, but we already have 4 different runners of that category, two of which used the loadremover.
3: The Loadremover makes the competition fair. If we go by RTA then everyone would have to buy a PS4Pro with SSD just to compete, which counts in at about 450€ which is ridiculous. Having a loadremover evens it out for everyone in almost every aspect. IGT can not be properly used as you don't have a timer that shows you how long it took you to do that like during a normal Any% run.
4: This requirement was community voted, people were voting for this exact requirement. Here is the link to that https:/​/​www.​speedrun.​com/​kh3/​thread/​0vx70

Hope this clears it up.

i still don't agree with it and think it is very annoying to do all that just to run the dlc.

also just cause people have used it doesn't make it anywhere close to convenient. all games have to deal with load times. the main game of kingdom hearts deal with load times. a lot of runs of games are on ps4 (not just kingdom hearts) and people can use a pro for those games too. the dlc isn't special in this case

I never said it is convenient, but it is way better than having to spend 450€ to compete in a category/game.
And as I said, you might not agree with it, however the poll has decided that this is what the community wants and I can't see your vote anywhere on there. To be fair, you might've not been interested in the runs at that point, so that point doesn't necessarily count much.

The DLC is just the first step, there has been talk about expanding that rule into more games as well to make those more fair between different hardware as well.
Also this loadremover is still in it's early stages, I am pretty sure we will be able to have a way easier version for this in the future.

This is something that's gonna ruin speed running and get less people into running and it should not be here. I dont care what the polls say. Live split is just fine. This is just a hassle.

Its too much of a pain to set up. Just needing to download more than one thing for the program to even work and then having it integrate with streaming software that some people may not even use, cause i dont use obs i cant run it. I was interested in running this if it wasnt for this new time keeping. And im sure plenty would feel the same especially if it goes to other games.

So you want to spend 450€ to be able to compete? Or are you only saying that because you already own a Pro+SSD?
It doesn't ruin it, we can make a video tutorial on it so that everyone can use it easily.

Once it's set up you use it just like you use livesplit normally, it is not my problem if you're to lazy to spend 10-15 minutes on something that makes competition fair and has been decided by the community.
Your argument is basically "I don't like it so we change it" while talking about something that affects way more people.

@PlayPodPlayPod I haven't seen you anywhere in the community so let me ask you one thing. Why should we care about what you say? If you want to have a say join the community, do some KH runs and vote on the polls before you start talking. If the majority of people/runners of the game are happy with the decisions then we mods are obligated to make the rules that way. Also, do your research about console differences and how the speedrun is timed. Load remover is the most fair way and people don't need to spend 400$+ just to compete for top times

Anyone can put in criticism, but it should be more of a constructive kind. From what I take @PlayPodPlayPod wanted to do runs of this or planned on doing so at least but was turned away by the loadremover itself.
Even if someone is not a runner they can put out criticism, but it should be done in a different manner.

Remember that you can run the category without the load remover if you are ok with just the RTA time, even though leaderboards ranking is based on loadless time. Also, if you get a competitive time in the category, mods can time your run and put it up there

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@PlayPodPlayPod I haven't seen you anywhere in the community so let me ask you one thing. Why should we care about what you say? If you want to have a say join the community, do some KH runs and vote on the polls before you start talking.

All of those criticisms are perfectly valid.

Not everyone uses OBS.
Not everyone streams via a PC.
Not everyone uses Livesplit.
Not everyone will understand how to configure this with the plugin.

These are all perfectly valid criticisms of this rule and can absolutely be seen as a detriment to new runners who aren’t familiar with it.

Instead if anyone actually addressing these concerns and explaining about how to deal with them, instead everyone just tried to prove their opinion wrong by throwing in “pay to win”. The user never even said they didn’t agree with it being fair, they just said they were discouraged by the complexity of the rule.

All anyone had to do was simply point them to the part of the OP that said mods can retime all runs if the runner can’t (huge props to you @DenhonatorDenhonator for actually doing this and trying to be helpful). Or even direct them to the discord to talk to them more.

Hopefully that user sees Denho’s post and keeps considering to do runs, but honestly, for an LB mod to be that hostile, nobody is ever gonna feel welcome criticizing anything again.

@TimmiluvsTimmiluvs I don't know who he is and I've never seen him anywhere. He is stating that it will ruin the speedrun which will not be the case. Many games like Horizon Zero Dawn work with a Load Remover and I never saw any issues. I don't like his approach either after Desa reasonably explained the reasons as of why we choose these rules. He should have criticized differently. Also setting up the Load Remover is not complex at all.

Bringing up 'Pay to win' as an opinion is perfectly valid for any game if there are differences between speedrun games. When he questions as of why we have this ruling, I think it's fair to bring up the 'Pay to win' so he understands. Like Desa said it's not our problem if somebody doesn't want to deal with this kind of stuff, same as other people were telling us 'It's not our problem if you don't have a pro'.

Also I was hostile and I want to apologize. I just got triggered when he said 'I dont care what the polls say'. My bad

@PlayPodPlayPod If you really want to run the DLC we can make it easier for you and re-time your run with a Load Remover

I am attempting to get this whole procedure to work because I've never done anything with AutoSplit before or even anything outside of casually speedrunning. But I want to get more into this and learn how to start officially timing runs, but I am having some difficulty with installing the OBS VirtualCam steps. Any assistance would be appreciated.

@NeoChozoNeoChozo shoot a message to @DenhonatorDenhonator he can assist you for sure

@CrystalCrownCrystalCrown, thanks. I will. I just officially registered yesterday so I can't do that for about six more days. I'll try to figure it out in the meantime though. Thanks.

@NeoChozoNeoChozo you can message him on Twitter or Discord I'm pretty sure that he got the informations under his profile here. Just click on his name and you should find it!

Make sure you read through all of the tutorial and FAQ in case your issue is listed somewhere there already, but feel free to describe the issue in detail here or DM me on Discord, for example.